


Nice to Meet You

by yoshizora



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Genre: rated for Patroka's mouth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-06-05 16:03:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15174311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yoshizora/pseuds/yoshizora
Summary: Nia meets Torna. Some of them, anyway.





	Nice to Meet You

**Author's Note:**

> writer's block has been hitting me, along with a particularly nasty stomach virus, so this is all i've got
> 
> tbh i just wanted to write Akhos and Patroka being assholes

“Kitty! _Kitty!!_ ”

“Wha—“

A frightfully large _shape_ comes lumbering at them across the docking area, thumps against the steel flooring with heavy footsteps that could nearly make the entire place tremble, and bears down upon Nia and Dromarch like a threat.

But then it’s clapping its monstrous hands with an oddly childish delight, hesitantly reaching for a very frazzled Dromarch. The Blade looks to Jin.

“Can I?!”

Jin brushes past the Blade, completely indifferent. “Do what you want.”

“Oh, boy! Kitty!”

“Pardon?! I am _not_ —“

But Dromarch’s protests are cut short as the Blade scoops him up as if he weighs as much as an actual kitten, cradling him with a surprisingly tender gentleness. He pats Dromarch on the head with one finger. Dromarch blinks, fur bristled and too startled to really do anything— and besides, Jin is already halfway across the room, pausing only to glance at Nia, expecting her to follow.

“Well?” he asks.

“Hold up!” Nia stomps a foot, hisses up at the Blade. “Let him go, you brute! Dromarch’s not a plaything!”

The Blade is still patting Dromarch’s head. He’s sheepish, but he’s not putting Dromarch down either. “Awww, do I gotta?”

“Nia. It’s fine,” Jin says. “Cressidus is harmless.”

“Kinda hard to believe, with a mug like that…”

Nia and Dromarch are both about to voice more complains and indignations, but Cressidus is already walking off with Dromarch, cheerfully babbling over their voices. Apparently he’d taken Jin’s remark as an affirmation, as he’s no longer listening to either of the new arrivals.

“Let’s go down to the lower levels, kitty! I’ll introduce you to Mikhail! He’s my Driver, he’s funny and likes to dance, and good with the machines— I help him with those, you know! Wanna see the machines, kitty? Yeah, I’ll show you our latest project.”

“M-My Lady…” Dromarch weakly cries out, and Nia would run after him and scratch at Cressidus’s knees or _something_ , but Jin is walking off again. With few other options and an odd feeling of reassurance that Dromarch would be in no serious harm, she groans and jogs off after Jin.

 

* * *

 

Their mysterious benefactor hadn’t said much at all on the journey through the Cloud Sea. From what Nia’s been able to gather so far, this man called Jin is… like herself, he leads a group called Torna, and they’re currently residing on a mechanical vessel that drifts through the depths of the Cloud Sea, safely hidden from the Praetorium’s detection.

No, he’s not quite like her. In what they _are_ , yes, but Nia is unable to get a good read on him and.

There was a fair number of guards left dead in the corridors of that Indoline ship.

But. It was a necessity, Nia firmly tells herself, because if Jin hadn’t killed them and rescued her and Dromarch then they’d be at the Praetorium by now, probably killed by the Praetor, probably worse; nothing that she cares to dwell on for too long. So she swallows back the uneasy feeling in her throat and follows Jin through the network of hallways and rooms within the Monoceros, trying not to think about the worst-case scenarios.

“So… what exactly is it that you guys do?” she dares to ask, unable to cope with the eerie silence. There’s absolutely no one here. This ship is nearly as large as some of the Ardainian battleships she’s seen flying around Gormott so surely it must have a crew to man it, but aside from that one Blade who took off with Dromarch, they haven’t encountered another living being yet.

“You’ll find out later,” Jin vaguely says.

They pass through a set of heavy steel doors to what appears to be a spacious canteen, with rows and rows of empty tables gathering dust. But one of the tables in the corner is occupied by two people sitting across from each other, too far away for Nia to hear what they’re talking about.

She supposes she should feel relieved that there’s finally signs of other life aboard the ship, but the unfriendly looks they give her as they approach only make the hairs on the back of her neck stand.

“Picked up a stray cat, Jin?”

“Ew, a kid.”

Jin motions to them. “Akhos. Patroka.” Then, to Nia. “Nia.”

“Hmm… well met, Nia.”

“Seriously?”

“I’ll leave her with you two. Show her to one of the empty cabins. I have other things to attend to.”

“Ugh, sure, just dump the newbie on us.”

“Quit whining, Patroka.”

“ _You_ can give her the grand tour if you want, Akhos.”

“Oh? I would have thought you would be pleased to see another girl finally join our ranks.”

“You think I’m into _cats?_ ”

Jin is already out of the room. Nia visibly tenses up when she realizes this— how did he leave without her even noticing?— and sort of shrinks back when both Akhos and Patroka turn to her. Patroka is squinting, scrutinizing, _judging_ , and Akhos’ gaze is… only slightly less intimidating.

“So,” Nia awkwardly begins.

“I never thought another would join our ranks,” Akhos says, his tone carrying just enough of an undercurrent of amicability, and Nia inwardly sighs with the relief that she probably won’t need to do most of the talking. Akhos folds his arms, adjusts his glasses, then folds his arms again. “Our group is… _particular_ about recruitment. I’m assuming you must be just like us, for Jin to have brought you all the way back to the Monoceros.”

“Like… you?”

“The Praetorium was after our heads too, dumbass.” Patroka rolls her eyes. “We’re all like that here. By the way, you got any Blades?”

“Y...eah, I do,” Nia slowly nods, and the reminder of Dromarch’s absence by her side only makes her tense up even more. The last time she had been separated from Dromarch, she was being kept captive aboard a ship on her way to Indol. They’ve never really been apart aside from that. Suddenly, she wishes she had run after Cressidus first instead of following Jin. “His name’s Dromarch. The, er, big Blade called Cressidus took off with him earlier. Jin said Dromarch would be fine, though.”

“Cool,“ Patroka flatly says, and Nia has a feeling she only listened to about half of what she had said. “Any _way_ , Akhos here will show you around, so I’m gonna be heading off.”

“Come now, Patroka, you’re not even remotely interested in our new associate’s story? It’s not every day that we see a new face aboard the Monoceros.”

“What’s there to be interested in? Indol was after her, Jin noticed, and then he decided to scoop her up before the Praetor could.”

It must be the fatigue getting to Nia, from days of stress and worry and so little sleep, but she’s feeling decidedly more annoyed than nervous now and bares her teeth at Patroka. “What, is that _your_ story too? Projection, much?”

Patroka’s eyes narrow. “ _Watch it, newbie._ ”

“Please, please, there’s no need to squabble amongst ourselves already,” Akhos holds his hands up between them, and Nia decides she already likes Akhos more than Patroka. But then he sneers at Nia and she realizes he’s likely just as unpleasant, only in a different way. “We trust Jin, but don’t think that means we trust you. I do hope you can prove your mettle to us, otherwise…”

Patroka makes a slicing motion across her throat with her finger. Nia resists the urge to roll her eyes.

“And with that out of the way, let’s show you to your new abode!” Akhos claps his hands once.

 

* * *

 

“I asked Jin about what is it you guys do, but he seemed kinda hush about the whole thing,” Nia says, warily eyeing the two of them. They’re walking at both her sides and she can’t help but feel like a prisoner being escorted by guards. “I woulda thought that’d be one of the first things I’m told, if I’m gonna be given room and board here.”

“You’ll find out later,” is all Akhos says.

“Funny, that’s the exact same thing Jin said…”

“Do you _need_ to know?” Patroka asks, and she answers before Nia can. “Of course you don’t. All you need to do is keep your mouth shut and do whatever needs to be done.”

Why Patroka is tagging along is beyond Nia, but at least it means that any potential silence is eaten away by her squabbling with Akhos. It gives her time to think. She’s still worried about Dromarch— he can probably deal with Cressidus, but it’s still unsettling to be without him all the same. Knowing him, he must be even more frantic to get back to her side.

Mentally, she kicks herself. _What if it’s a trap?_ What if they meant to separate her and Dromarch? Surely Jin isn’t with Indol, considering he slaughtered those guards, but they could be… a different kind of threat, and…

“Here.” They come to a stop. Akhos pushes a door open in a hallway of several. “We were using this cabin for storage, but you may claim it.”

“Oh, gee, thanks,” Nia dryly says, eyeing the piles of boxes and other assortment of junk haphazardly tossed around in the cramped space. “Any chance I could get a hand with clearing it out?”

Patroka sharply laughs. Akhos shrugs. Nia sighs.

“Facilities are down the hall and to the right. You’ve already seen the canteen— the kitchen is directly adjacent to it. And…” Akhos narrows his eyes. “Don’t go to the command center, if you know what’s good for you.”

“… Am I allowed to ask what’s in the command center?”

“Curiosity killed the cat,” he says.

Nia sighs again.

“Look, as grateful as I am to Jin for saving me and to you two for… showing me around, it’s kinda hard to take it easy when I’ve got _no clue what’s goin’ on,_ Nia says, exasperated. “Why should I even stick around? What’s stopping me and Dromarch from packing our bags and leaving tonight?”

“Because this is the only safe place for scum like you,” Patroka says, so matter-of-fact that Nia’s caught off guard. “You think Indol’s gonna be happy about a Flesh Eater escaping them? They’ll be swarming all over you and your Blade like Skeeters the moment you swim up onto a Titan. Hah! But what do we care? You can get out and get yourself killed as far as we’re concerned.”

“Please remember, Jin brought her here for a reason,” Akhos mutters to her. Patroka’s expression falls solemn just for a split second, then it twists into disgust.

“Ugh! Sometimes he just— that pisses me off!” she enunciates this with a punch to the wall, and Nia jumps back when the steel dents beneath her fist. “We’re not a charity case, for crying out loud! Who cares if the kid’s a Flesh Eater?! We don’t need extra deadweight!”

The air around her is shifting, subtly, and Nia feels the tension drawing her temper close to its snapping point.

This isn’t what she wanted. This isn’t what she _wants._ But it’s clear that this is the best she’ll get and acknowledging that only makes her feel helpless in a thick dredge of anger. She didn’t ask to be saved. She didn’t ask to be taken aboard this ship. She didn’t ask to be treated like deadweight.

Yet here she is, given a second chance at life by people who clearly don’t even trust her, Dromarch whisked away for the time being and these… _assholes_ treating her as if she’s some helpless kid. It’s still better than her and Dromarchs’ previous circumstances.

“I’m not useless!” she blurts out, and Patroka scoffs. “Far from it! I’m a _Driver._ At least lemme pull my weight, yeah? I swear, I’ll make you eat your words—“

“That’s fine,” Akhos quickly says before Patroka can lunge. “I believe Jin will be expecting the same. At least you seem to be catching onto the conditions of your stay fairly quickly.”

“Yeah, so you can clean your room, for starters,” Patroka motions to the messy cabin. “The rest of us have better things to do than haul junk.”

 _It’s not even her stuff._ Nia is seething and her ears are flat against her head, but she stiffly nods.

“But you can do that later. Let’s go to the bridge. If you’re going to be useful to us, you should at least know how to steer the ship,” Akhos says, and he and Patroka lead Nia back through the halls.

 

* * *

 

There are people already in the bridge— a person and his Blade. Both turn around and Nia’s mouth silently opens, her jaw tense and eyes wide.

That man, his eyes filled to the brim with pure malice, offers a cruel smile. Nia can _feel_ the dark ether rolling off of him in pulses, unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. His Blade is a complete nonentity in comparison.

All her instincts tell her to run. Is it fear? No. It’s something deeper, perhaps.

“Well, well. Who’s this?”

“A new recruit,” Akhos says, waving one hand in a vague gesture. “Nia, this is Malos. He’s second-in-command. And Sever, his Blade.”

“It’s a pleasure,” Sever hisses.

Malos’s smile grows just a bit wider at the corners. His voice drips with something distinctly _wrong_ , and his gaze lowers directly to the spot on Nia’s chest where her tainted Core Crystal is hidden by her clothes.

“Nice to meet you, Nia.”

But there’s nowhere to run, and all Nia can do is offer a curt nod in return. Her hand grasps at the air at her side, reaching for the spot where Dromarch would usually be.

“… Yeah. Nice to meet you, too.”


End file.
